Google MapsOld Bridge plans to buy land west of Englishtown Road, pictured above, to dig a reservoir and pump their own water.

OLD BRIDGE — Middlesex Water Company pumps water out of aquifers in Old Bridge, and sells the treated liquid to several municipalities, including the township.

Now the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority has a long-range plan to dig a reservoir, pump its own water, cut out the water company, cut costs, and, in the short-term, avoid possible layoffs of municipal employees.

The plan calls for buying 300 acres of township land west of Englishtown Road, and building three basins from which the town could draw to process through its existing treatment plants.

Each day, Old Bridge needs 6 million gallons of water for homes, schools and businesses. It gets 4 million gallons from the authority and 2 million from the Middlesex Water Company, which is based in Iselin. The utilities authority supplies 4 million gallons, pumping from the underground aquifers and treating it.

However, state regulations from the 1980s prohibit the township from taking more out of the ground. So much water was then being used that salt water from the Raritan Bay was being pulled underground.

Middlesex Water Company takes water from the large reservoir that Perth Amboy built on property the city purchased in Old Bridge in the 1920s. The city turned over operation of the reservoir, known as the Runyon Watershed, to the water company more than 10 years ago.

Now Old Bridge, through the MUA, buys 2 million or more gallons daily from the private company.

Nicholas Smolney, chairman of the utilities authority, said state regulations would permit the township to dig a "recharge" reservoir and draw additional water to meet the needs of today and the future.

COST FACTORS

Operating the reservoir would cost about half of what the township pays to buy the water, say Smolney and township Councilman Patrick Gillespie. The MUA pays Middlesex Water about $2,600 per million gallons. This is more than twice the estimated $1,000-per-million-gallon cost for the MUA to pump and treat its own water, township officials said.

"It just makes sense for us to do it," said Gillespie, a Democrat and the council vice president.

He sees another advantage, because the township wants to sell the 300 acres to the utilities authority and use the funds as revenue in the next municipal budget.

One aspect to be worked out are the value of the land as set by two recent land appraisals. The township has a $6.6 million appraisal of the property, which is west of Englishtown Road and north of Texas Road. The utilities authority got a $4.4 million estimate of the land.

The two sides expect to hash out the price through a court hearing. The utilities authority would cover the cost from its reserves.

Republican council members do not support the water plan.

Councilman Brian Cahill described the proposal as "a one-shot deal" to help the budget. The return on the investment could take 10 to 25 years, he said. "It’s just foolhardy," he added.

Gillespie countered that the township bought the land in the 1990s for development and should get fair-market value for it. The proceeds, he said, could prevent layoffs next year.

Smolney admitted it would take years to get state approvals and dig the basins.